Bonus Points - A USA Wrestling Podcast | Mat Talk Podcast Network

Bonus Points is the official podcast of USA Wrestling and TheMat.com hosted by Richard Immel. Sponsored by Liberty Mutual Insurance Play Positive®, Bonus Points offers interviews and insight from USA Wrestling, the National Governing Body for wrestling in the United States and will feature coaches, athletes and notable names from the sport of wrestling. Part of the Mat Talk Podcast Network.

Sonnen attended the University of Oregon where he was a NCAA Division I All-American in 1998. On the Senior level, he went on to win a silver medal at the University World Championships in 2000, on top of two gold medals at the Dave Schultz Memorial International in 2000 and 2001 in Greco-Roman wrestling.

A long-time MMA veteran, Sonnen reached the pinnacle of his fighting career when he faced all-time MMA great Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 117 in 2010. Sonnen was moments away from winning the belt before being submitted with less than two minutes left in the final round, falling just short of the title UFC champion.

Sonnen has since made a name for himself as a MMA analyst working for companies such as ESPN and Fox Sports. He also hosts the "You're Welcome! With Chael Sonnen" podcast.

Topics of discussion include his journey in wrestling, the loss of the Oregon wrestling program and its potential revival, college and international wrestling current events and his path to success.

Rotundo has photographed five World Championships, nine NCAA Championships and countless other local, national and international wrestling events. He will be one of the U.S. wrestling photographers to shoot the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August.

He is the recipient of the 2009 National Wrestling Media Association Photographer of the Year award and the 2012 California State Irv Oliner Award given to individuals for their outstanding contribution to California Wrestling.

Rotundo grew up wrestling in New York and won a silver medal at the 1983 Cadet World Championships.

Topics of discussion include his journey in wrestling photography, how he perfects his craft, current wrestling events and his path to success.

Episode 30 of Bonus Points features one of the best men's freestyle wrestlers in USA Wrestling history, Olympic and World champion Kenny Monday.

In total, Monday won four Olympic and World medals. He won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea and a silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. Monday also won gold at the 1989 World Championships and earned silver at the 1991 World Championships.

Monday was a member of three U.S. Olympic teams (1988, 1992 and 1996). He was also the first african-american wrestler to win the Olympics.

Among his other career achievements are a gold medal at the 1988 Tblisi Tournament, considered by many to be the toughest tournament in the world. He was a three-time NCAA finalist for Oklahoma State University and a NCAA champion in 1984.

Topics of discussion include his experience growing up wrestling in Tulsa, Okla., his collegiate career and international career, the rivalries and freindships he formed on his journey and winning the Olympic gold medal in one of the most memorable Olympic finals in history.

The USA Wrestling Bonus Points podcast, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance, will feature many of top names in wrestling from the U.S. and beyond.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he deconstructs the greatest minds in wrestling and sheds light on the secrets of success for each guest.

Episode 28 of Bonus Points features Alli Ragan, three-time U.S. World Team member and 2016 Olympic hopeful in women's freestyle wrestling.

Topics of discussion include Ragan training for a week with the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa, her 2015 World Championships performance, transitioning through life as a women's wrestler and how Ragan achieved this level of success.

In addition to making three Senior-level U.S. World Team's, Ragan is a two-time Junior World bronze medalist (2011, 2012) and two-time WCWA national champion for King University (2013, 2014).

The USA Wrestling Bonus Points podcast, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance, will feature many of top names in wrestling from the U.S. and beyond.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he deconstructs the greatest minds in wrestling and sheds light on the secrets of success for each guest.

Episode 27 of Bonus Points features one of the biggest names and personalities in U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling, three-time World Team member Robby Smith.

Topics of discussion include Smith's legendary match against Bilyal Makov of Russia at the World Championships, the growing support of U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling, what it will take for Smith to reach the Olympic pinnacle and much more.

In addition to making three Senior-level U.S. World Team's, Smith has won two U.S. Open championships and placed fifth at the World Championships in 2013 and 2015.

Smith is well known internationally for his high-paced style, bushy beard, tall American flag socks and outgoing personality.

The USA Wrestling Bonus Points podcast, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance, will feature many of top names in wrestling from the U.S. and beyond.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he deconstructs the greatest minds in wrestling and sheds light on the secrets of success for each guest.

Episode 26 of Bonus Points features University of Iowa All-American Thomas Gilman. Topics of discussion include the Terry documentary, what it means to wrestle for Iowa, what Gilman has learned from past triumphs and failures, and what the future holds for the Hawkeye standout.

Gilman, a junior for the Hawkeyes, is currently undefeated on the college level this season and is ranked No. 2 in the NCAA at 125 pounds. Recently, Gilman won the his second title at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.

Gilman has been a member of three age-group U.S. World Team's in freestyle wrestling. He won a bronze medal at the 2014 Junior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

Prior to arriving in Iowa City, Iowa, Gilman was a four-time Nebraska state champion.

The USA Wrestling Bonus Points podcast, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance, will feature many of top names in wrestling from the U.S. and beyond.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he attempts to deconstruct the greatest minds in wrestling and sheds light on the secrets of success for each guest.

Episode 25 of Bonus Points features Penn State freshman and 2016 Southern Scuffle champion Bo Nickal. Topics of discussion include Nickal's freshman campaign to this point, being a key cog in the Penn State lineup and what sets him apart both on and off the mat.

Nickal is currently undefeated on the college level this year and ranked No. 1 in the NCAA at 174 pounds. Nickal won the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 2 in impressive fashion, being named outstanding wrestler of the competition.

Prior to arriving in State College, Pa. Nickal was a three-time Texas state champion and two-time U.S. Cadet World Team member on top of mulitple high school national championships and accolades. He placed fifth in the world in 2013.

USA Wrestling's Bonus Points podcast, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance, will feature many of top names in wrestling from the U.S. and beyond.

Episode 24 of Bonus Points features Josef Rau, 2016 U.S. Senior Nationals champion and 2014 U.S. World Team member in Greco-Roman.

Rau competed collegiately for Elmhurst College where he won a NCAA Division III national title in 2013.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest wrestling news from around the country and talks with Rau about his wrestling journey, moving up to 98 kg, the secret to his success and much more.

USA Wrestling's Bonus Points podcast, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance, will feature many of top names in wrestling from the U.S. and beyond.

Episode 23 of Bonus Points features Kyle Dake, four-time NCAA champion and U.S. National Team member in men's freestyle.

Wrestling collegiately at Cornell University, Dake became the third wrestler in history to win four individual NCAA championships and the first-ever wrestler to do so at four different weight classes.

Currently, there are only four men to win the NCAA Championships four times: Pat Smith (Oklahoma State), Cael Sanderson (Iowa State), Kyle Dake (Cornell) and Logan Stieber (Ohio State).

Dake was the 74 kg runner-up at the U.S. World Team Trials in 2013 and 2015. He is making the move up to 86 kg to compete for an Olympic berth in 2016.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest wrestling news from around the country and talks with Dake about his wrestling journey, moving up to 86 kg, what makes him successful and much more.

Brenneman wrestled collegiatly at Lock Haven University where he finished in the round of 12 at the 2004 NCAA Championships. He was named to the NWCA All-Academic Team in 2004.

Following his wrestling career at Lock Haven, Brenneman taught high school Spanish for three years, where he garned his nickname The Spaniard, before winning the reality television show Pros vs. Joes in 2006. Soon thereafter, he elected to turn to a career in mma.

Brenneman was ranked as high as No. 7 in the UFC welterweight division. He has battled current top contenders Johny Hendricks and Anthony "Rumble" Johnson inside the Octagon.

Currently, Brenneman works as a professional speaker and author. He just released his first book, Driven: My Unlikely Journey from Classroom to Cage, last fall.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest wrestling news from around the country and talks with Brenneman about how wrestling has shaped his life, his UFC career and his current business ventures.

USA Wrestling's Bonus Points podcast, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance, will feature many of top names in wrestling from the U.S. and beyond.

Episode 21 of Bonus Points features Matt Lindland, head coach of the U.S. Greco-Roman National Team. He has served in this position since July of 2014.

Lindland won a silver medal at the 200 Olympic Games in Sydney, Austrailia and a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships in Patras, Greece.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest wrestling news from around the country and talks with Lindland about the 2015 World Championships, the state of Greco-Roman wrestling in the U.S., mixed martial arts, how to market Greco-Roman wrestling and much more.

Episode 20 of Bonus Points features Jim Harshaw who was a three-time ACC champion and NCAA All-American for the University of Virginia. He served as an assistant wrestling coach at Virginia from 2000 to 2002 and was the head wrestling coach at Slippery Rock University from 2002 to 2004.

Harshaw is now an Assistant Director for the Virginia Athletics Foundation and hosts the Wrestling with Greatness podcast.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Harshaw about his Wrestling with Greatness podcast, how to be sucessful both on and off the wrestling mat and the marketing of wrestling.

Episode 19 of Bonus Points features Tony Ramos, two-time U.S. World Team member in men's freestyle. Ramos was a NCAA champion for the University of Iowa in 2014.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Ramos about the Grapple on the Gridiron, competing at the 2015 World Championships, how the sport of wrestling can grow and improve and much more.

Episode 18 of Bonus Points features Leigh Jaynes-Provisor, 2015 World bronze medalist in women's freestyle wrestling at 60 kg. She is a three-time U.S. World Team member.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Jaynes-Provisor about her World Championships run, transitioning from a non-Olympic weight class to an Olympic weight class, her experience of raising a daughter while competeing and much more.

Episode 16 of Bonus Points features Alex Dieringer, two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State University. The Cowboy star is seeking his third NCAA title and fourth All-American honor during the 2015-16 college season.

Dieringer won the 157-pound NCAA championship in 2014 followed by the 165-pound title last year. A win in 2016 would make Dieringer the 16th Oklahoma State wrestler to win three NCAA titles.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Dieringer about his journey at Oklahoma State, what it takes to become a multiple time NCAA champion, the keys to dominating opponents and much more.

Episode 15 of Bonus Points features Nick Gwiazdowski, two-time NCAA champion at 285 pounds for North Carolina State. The Wolfpack star is seeking his third NCAA title and fourth All-American honors during the 2015-16 college season.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Gwiazdowski about his NCAA experiences, road to success, defending his NCAA titles and the opportunity to become one of the greatest NCAA heavyweights in history.

Episode 14 of Bonus Points features Brandon Slay, U.S. men's freestyle assistant national coach and 2000 Olympic champion. Slay heads the developmental and Olympic Training Center residential programs for the U.S. in men's freestyle.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Slay about the U.S. performance at the 2015 World Championships, the state of the U.S. wrestling program, his Olympic journey in 2000 and hot button topics from around the wrestling world.

Episode 13 of Bonus Points features Andy Bisek, two-time World bronze medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling. Bisek won back-to-back World bronze medals for the U.S. in 2014 and 2015.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Bisek about his 2015 World Championships run, his world famous mustache and much more.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Gray about capturing her third World title and fifth consecutive World medal since 2011.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Kyle Snyder about his legendary performance at the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas. Snyder became the youngest American wrestler to win the World Championships after scoring a 5-5 win over reigning World champion Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia in the 97 kg gold medal match.

Episode 10 of Bonus Points, the official podcast of USA Wrestling, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance Play Positive® previews the 2015 World Wrestling Championships with in-depth discussion about Team USA, the international field, dark horse contenders, predictions and more.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with host of the Short Time Wrestling Podcast Jason Bryant about the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, Nev.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Elena Pirozhkova about her wild 2014 World Championships experience, moving to the United States from Russia at three years of age, preparations for the 2015 World Championships and much more.

Join USA Wrestling's Richard Immel as he takes you through the latest USA Wrestling news from around the country and talks with Spencer Lee about his golden performance at the 2015 Junior World Championships.